Cigar collecting is an exciting hobby that combines craftsmanship, culture and sensory pleasure. Havana cigars, known for their exceptional quality, are produced exclusively in Cuba, using cultivation and processing techniques that have been perfected over centuries.
Cigar collecting is an exciting hobby that combines craftsmanship, culture and sensory pleasure. Havana cigars, known for their exceptional quality, are produced exclusively in Cuba, using cultivation and processing techniques that have been perfected over centuries.
The essence of cigar collecting goes beyond simply smoking cigars; it involves appreciating the diversity of flavors, aromas and complexity of each vitola. Cigar collectors find satisfaction in discovering and acquiring limited editions, reserve cigars and those with years of aging that have developed unique flavor profiles.
Selecting cigars for a collection requires knowledge and care. Collectors look for prestigious brands such as Cohiba, Montecristo or Romeo y Julieta, among others, each with its own history and tradition. In addition, special editions and commemorative series are highly valued for their rarity and exclusivity.
Proper storage is crucial in cigar collecting. Enthusiasts invest in high-quality humidors, carefully controlling temperature and humidity to preserve the freshness and flavor of their cigars. Some collectors even choose to store their treasures in original boxes, preserving the authenticity and historical value of each piece.
Setdart presents a small collection of Havana cigars, humidors and utensils featuring the most recognized brands by cigar lovers.
– Cohibarevered for its prestige and quality, showcases its unmistakable brand in this collection, offering cigars that embody excellence and elegance. The Cuaba Millenium Distinguidos Reserve 2000, a limited edition of distinguished character, add a touch of exclusivity with their rich history and careful elaboration.
– Davidoffknown for its meticulous craftsmanship and attention to detail, brings to the auction a selection that reflects the sophistication of this iconic brand. The Romeo y Julietawith their romanticism impregnated in each vitola, add a touch of passion and tradition to the collection, while the Bolivars, with their strength and character, are a bold choice for those seeking intense experiences.
– Montecristorevered for its legacy and distinctive flavor, shares its presence in this auction, offering collectors the opportunity to acquire cigars that encapsulate tobacco mastery. In addition, the duplicated presence of Davidoff underlines the versatility and quality that characterizes this prestigious brand.
The humidors and utensils, such as cigar cutters, that accompany this collection are also designed to enhance the collector’s experience.
From different generations but united by a frank militant feeling, Alexis Leyva, better known as “Kcho” (1970) and Manuel Mendive Hoyo (1944) share a similar commitment to their cultural roots and to burning problems in their country, but also a lively interest for updating languages and experimenting with materials and techniques, which places them at the forefront of art. The local and the global intertwine in his art.
Manuel Mendive, his grandfather introduced him to the knowledge of the Yoruba, whose culture has continuity in Cuba . Continuing the collective ethnic spirit, he creates a universe with the poetry emanating from the Afro-Cuban deities. Tradition and syncretism open up expressive mechanisms that are rooted in life experience. In “The Dialogue” (2003), the painting that Setdart is putting out to tender these days (see lot 35148833), the autochthonous referents merge with the formal language learned in Europe. In it, the characters of the Yoruba pantheon that inspired much of his career continue to appear. Curved shapes dominate the entire composition, denoting an artistic activity based on the roots of a people that, in the painter’s opinion, should regain their dignity. We observe a game of perspectives that intermingle with the artist’s dreamlike and surrealist style.
Mendive received the International Prize at the II Biennial of Havana, in 1986. In 2001 he received the National Prize for Plastic Arts. That year he entered his upward career as a milestone. The jury unanimously agreed to grant him such a distinction, which inserted the artist into the group of most relevant Cuban creators. Mendive also has the Alejo Carpentier Medal, and is a Knight of the Arts and Letters of France. Currently his work is preserved in museums and galleries in Latin America, Russia, Africa, the United States and Europe.
The twentieth-century Cuban school was characterized by welcoming the European avant-gardes and developing, based on that basis, its own language. This generalized current of artists trained in Europe, who returned to Cuba, was a great artistic impulse for the country. Thanks to painters who merged their roots and experiences, thus creating a new personal and independent language.
As for Kcho, it was from the 1994 Havana Biennial and the 1999 Venice Biennale that his work reached a notable projection. At that time, he was working with poor materials, resuming the legacy of the Italian “povera” but with a clearly political message.
The sea and the rafters are always present in Kcho’s work. The painting on linen that Setdart tendered from Kcho (lot 35217597) belongs to the series “Bola de Churre”, made in 2019. In this large-scale oil painting, as in his sculptures and installations, he refers in a poetic way to the Cuban topography and alludes to the most decisive element of life on the island, the isolation marked by the geographical limit of the water frontier. His work It evokes the sea voyage as an ideal territory for remembrance and nostalgia. Kcho reflects on the phenomenon of migration, theme from which he makes his stage sets about the trip and which speak about the impossibility of the flight from our memory, our destiny and our roots.
Existential awareness, poetry and militancy without rhetoric or demagoguery, as the famous French critic Pierre Restany asserted, characterize Kcho ‘s work. The same qualifiers could apply to Mendive . Two artists who have contributed to give visibility to the Cuban reality and to place the artistic production of the island at the forefront of international visual arts .
